Why use a sleeping bag?

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Viking

Settler
Oct 1, 2003
961
1
47
Sweden
www.nordicbushcraft.com
Why use a sleeping bag really, they are heavy bulky and boring and cold to get out of in the morning. Why not just use a bivy bag and sleep with clothes on and during winter and colder times of the year add down jacket and trousers that you still can wear when get up in the morning still keeping you warm and can be used on a cold days for slow activities.

We used this system when I was in the army (but without the bivy bag) and it worked good then. Why should it not work now?
 

Squidders

Full Member
Aug 3, 2004
3,853
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Harrow, Middlesex
Sleeping bags are cheaper... than a down jacket & down trousers

When I'm with Eloise, I have a double sleeping bag... I don't think double clothes would work.

It does your clothes some good having you out of them for a while makes them just a little fresher.

If your clothes get wet you would have to take them off to dry them and that would mean having a spare set taking up room anyway, why not a sleeping bag.

In an emergency you can give a sleeping bag to someone else without being naked.

I'm sure there are lots of other good reasons but these are the ones my limited imagination can come up with at the moment.

In extreme, I have just slept under a boulder in just the clothes I stood in but it was less than ideal... so just because I can, doesn't mean I want to.
 

jamesdevine

Settler
Dec 22, 2003
823
0
48
Skerries, Co. Dublin
In Calvin Rutstrums book Paradise below zero he talks of a half down bag to cover the bottom half of your body using your bown parker on top. It always seemed a sensible idea an not far from yours Viking.

In summer all do I currently use a sleeping bag I have been considering weather it is neccesary and would a wool blanket or poncho liner be enough or even two much. At home we just us a sheet would my liner not be enough.

A sleeping bag in winter especial when using a tent is not a bad idea as you have the opportunity to get out of the day cloths.

It comes down to personal comfort. I like to experience winter without a sleeping back using natures body warmer fire but maybe a sleeping back is the easier/lazier way.

James
 

Viking

Settler
Oct 1, 2003
961
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Sweden
www.nordicbushcraft.com
Squidders said:
Sleeping bags are cheaper... than a down jacket & down trousers


When I'm with Eloise, I have a double sleeping bag... I don't think double clothes would work.

It does your clothes some good having you out of them for a while makes them just a little fresher.

If your clothes get wet you would have to take them off to dry them and that would mean having a spare set taking up room anyway, why not a sleeping bag.

In an emergency you can give a sleeping bag to someone else without being naked.

I'm sure there are lots of other good reasons but these are the ones my limited imagination can come up with at the moment.

In extreme, I have just slept under a boulder in just the clothes I stood in but it was less than ideal... so just because I can, doesn't mean I want to.

Down jacket and trouser cost less then £80 (army surplus)

I always carry a extra shirt, so that will be no extra and during the winter I always sleep in my clothes anyway.

If my clothes get wet I can use my waterproofs as clothing when my other cloting is getting dried.

Good to hear some arguments against it too, and there are probably places were a sleeping bag would be a better choice. But for example during winter a sleeping bag is BIG an weight a lot and to that you will need a down jacket anyway so that it may be something that will only work during that period of the year and then use a sleeping bag during the summer.

Got to test it next time I am out.
 

jack29g

Forager
Sep 17, 2004
164
0
Leicester
i would always take a sleeping bag as it help give me a sort of bed feeling where i can go to sleep easily, i also think it is a wise thing to take even if it just for emergencies etc
 
K

KenC

Guest
This is definietly a horses for courses trade-off between weight, cost and comfort, but:

1. I would have thought that a decent down bag would weigh considerably less, take up less space, and be warmer, than a down jacket and trousers. Of course here you pay for what you get. A £200 4 season down bag is going to be much smaller and lighter than a £100 one of the same, and both will be better than a £50 synethetic bag.

2. Since it's invariably colder when I stop to sleep I can either take extra clothes or a sleeping bag. Referring back to #1, the sleeping bag is the better option for me.

3. Comfort wise, it's nicer to take off dirty/smelly/wet clothes and curl up in a sleeping bag.

4. All the other safety benefits of a sleeping bag.
 

wentworth

Settler
Aug 16, 2004
573
2
40
Australia
Was just reading in Jardine's book Beyond Backpacking, he talks about how Robert Peary and followers slept in their jackets without sleepingbags on their way to the north pole. they just pulled their arms inside the jackets.
So the idea obviously works, it may just be a matter of personal preference.
My hesitation may be because I might realise I have been carrying round something for years that was not essential! ;)
 

Stuart

Full Member
Sep 12, 2003
4,141
50
**********************
a sleeping bag will be warmer for the same weight than a jacket and trousers for the same reason that mittens are warmer than gloves.

the dead air space around your body, between your arms and torso, legs etc is greater in a sleeping bag.
 

Viking

Settler
Oct 1, 2003
961
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Sweden
www.nordicbushcraft.com
Stuart said:
a sleeping bag will be warmer for the same weight than a jacket and trousers for the same reason that mittens are warmer than gloves.

the dead air space around your body, between your arms and torso, legs etc is greater in a sleeping bag.

But a jacket can be used for more things then sleep in. Zip together the legs on the trousers and keep your arms inside it should work.

I talked to a man that has more then 50 years of expereince of outdoors life and he did not used sleeping bags but preffered this system instead. Thats why I got interested in to try this more.
 

Lithril

Administrator
Admin
Jan 23, 2004
2,590
55
Southampton, UK
Due to the damp nature in the UK down is intrinsically flawed, it'll soak up the moisture in the air.


When taking groups out sleeping bags are actually part of the emergency kit as stated above, you can give them to others.

Personally I actually like to get out of my clothes and into a sleeping bag, air the clothes a bit and us!

Waterproofs while your clothes dry, how does that work, you need to keep warm, most waterproofs aren't fire retardant so you can't go too close to the fire. If you're clothes are wool based then thats going to take a while to dry.

I can see how it may work but I'm still not convinced.
 

Stuart

Full Member
Sep 12, 2003
4,141
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**********************
Viking said:
But a jacket can be used for more things then sleep in. Zip together the legs on the trousers and keep your arms inside it should work.


your right its a very economical use of kit but there is a trade off.

however you mention zipping the trouser legs togeather, assuming that the trousers have full length zips and that the inner leg zips for opposite sides match up, then you would create a large sock for your legs which would work quite well.

the only problens i would forsee here are cold spots where the zips are and you would have to find some means of sealing off the open bottom of the trousers.
 

match

Settler
Sep 29, 2004
707
8
Edinburgh
Temperatures when you are asleep are bound to be lower than when you are awake - coupled with the fact that you are generally warmer during the day (eating hot food, moving more etc).

This probably means that the clothes you wear during the day need to provide you with less insulation than you'll need at night - which either means you'll need to carry more clothes to put on at night, or take off the extra clothes during the day. If you're doing either, you'll need to carry the extra clothing, and that will limit the weight and space available for other kit. A sleeping bag is in my experience the lightest and most compact way to get an all-over body suit of clothing for when you're cold at night. As has been said before, it also provides a change of clothing (so your day-to-day clothes can air and breathe) and provides a separate dry layer for the night (your clothes from the day may well be wet, muddy, dirty).

Plus if you're tall and thin like me, in winter you'll tend to just end up sleeping in all your clothes INSIDE your sleeping bag, and then still be too cold :(
 

Viking

Settler
Oct 1, 2003
961
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This is how we did when I was in the army during summer:
If your clothets would get soaked, you put on your waterproofs and you don´t stand still. You move around or make a fire, unless i dont lay directly in the fire the waterproofs wont melt. In the night you just put the jacket over you and more or less use it as a blanket.

During winter:
Jacket and trousers are used around camp during slow ativities and to sleep in. These are clothes you would use anyway since you will need it when standing still. The biggest is to keep the feet warm and dry when sleeping in trousers. If you dress of most of your clothes (snowsuit for expamle) and use them as insulation under and over you to give some extra insulation.
If you take off your clothes and crawl down in a sleeping bag you would get very cold when you go up in the morning. You can dress off and on in the sleeping bag but that is far from easy to do even in a big sleeping bag. Thats why I would prefer a system like this.

Something that can be used instead of a basha and bivybag is Fjellduken, that would also give extra insulation and give some more room to move around in.

I don´t know how this will work (it worked perfect 10 years ago in the army) but I want to try out new things and don´t just dont as I always done.

But it´s good to hear other people´s view on this
 

Goose

Need to contact Admin...
Aug 5, 2004
1,797
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56
Widnes
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I cant sleep properley without a quilt/sleeping bag, not necessarily because of the temperature, I just need that feeling of being covered. I spent a week canoeing round the western isles of scotland and tried without a sleeping bag, I had spare clothes and a foil blanket, I was warm enough but it "didnt feel right" I know it sounds daft but I wouldnt go without the sleeping bag again.
The foil blanket was worse than nothing btw, was wet by morning and made everything else damp.
Has anyone tried a "blizzard emergency sleeping bag" they are supposed to be breathable and cant see why they wouldnt be a good idea except it wouldnt be "snuggly" :rolleyes:
 

Gary

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apr 17, 2003
2,603
2
57
from Essex
in damp britian a down jacket system wouldnt work to well - that said as a soldier i often put on my nbc suit and just slept in that.

The down jacket system would work for places where it is dry cold as your body sweats less and the outside air is dry.

As we have said on other threads - whats good for one enviroment isnt necessary good for another .
 

JimH

Nomad
Dec 21, 2004
306
1
Stalybridge
Viking said:
Why use a sleeping bag really, they are heavy bulky and boring and cold to get out of in the morning. Why not just use a bivy bag and sleep with clothes on and during winter and colder times of the year add down jacket ...
<SNIP>

Well, the science is that a sleeping bag is warmer, weight for weight than clothes due to smaller surface area for radiating heat, and the need to insulate all round each arm and/or leg for a "clothes based" sleep system.

That said, the point is well made about the clothes being more versatile.

I do a lot of summer bivvis with just a bag and clothes, or with a very thin Snugpak 0 season :rolleyes: sleeping bag and some clothes in a bivi bag, which works well. This is an approach I learned at bike rallies, and empirically I'd suggest it works best when your insulating layers don't include CE rigid armour. :cool:

Psychologically, I do find a bag more like "normal" bedclothes, which can help with getting to sleep, as others have mentioned. Practice, I guess...

Jim.
 

Viking

Settler
Oct 1, 2003
961
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47
Sweden
www.nordicbushcraft.com
Goose said:
Has anyone tried a "blizzard emergency sleeping bag" they are supposed to be breathable and cant see why they wouldnt be a good idea except it wouldnt be "snuggly" :rolleyes:

Tried it in -15 and fully dressed and it got too warm and made me starting sweating a lot and there is hust too much noise when movin around in it. But for an emergency it would be perfect.
 

spamel

Banned
Feb 15, 2005
6,833
21
48
Silkstone, Blighty!
I think you should carefully consider going out without a sleeping bag. Some may have tried it and been fine, others may suffer. Folk sleep at different temperatures, and what is good for one person may not be good for another. I've just returned from Suffield in Canada where Medicine Hat had its first major floods in 10 years (lucky old me!!) and the prairie was awash for the first ten days. In this time, one of our new guys went down with hypothermia and was sent back to Germany.

He didn't take any cold weather gear, not even waterproofs. He was told on a briefing, as we all were, that MEDMAN 2 temperatures soar to 35-40 deg C. Most of our officers wore jungle boots in this muddy nightmare, and had omitted their goretex trousers, which more people are using these days. At night, the young lad crawled into his sleeping bag with wet kit on and then got soaked again the next day. By this stage, his body couldn't generate enough heat to combat the cold, and he went down. Imagine he didn't take his sleeping bag?

OK, this was down to his bad admin in the field and a lack of knowledge. Personaly, I used a softie 6 with a fleece liner I bought in Canada, and I had a softie 3 at my disposal aswell. Wet proofs were used almost daily, Helly Hansen field jacket came out on more than one occasion, and my shemagh got an airing on my bonce aswell! I didn't use my norgie shirt, but I had it all the same. As Gary also says, NBC suit was always an option. Armoured life is easier than dismounted infantry because you don't have to carry all your kit, therefore you take all you could possibly need, as the RAF know when I checked in 57kg worth of kit!!!

Anyone new to sleeping in the great outdoors should take a sleeping bag with them, even if they don't intend to use it, at least until they get a bit of experience under their belt. Always take it if you are going to Dartmoor!!!

Stay warm by carrying more!

Spamel
 

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